Chapter 18

He said nothing for several days and let her recover, then he asked, "Lisa? What was that liquid coming from your breasts the other day?"

She looked at him guiltily and tried to think of a plausible lie. Then she decided to tell him the truth. Ten minutes later, a stunned Joe said,"Kittens, you actually bore kittens?" She nodded and waited for his next questions. They came thick and fast.

When he had grasped the whole story, Joe announced that he wanted to meet and see Dr. Milton's laboratory and the complete set up at the country house. Lisa said she would ask him if he would meet him, but warned that he would have to keep everything he saw completely secret. Joe agreed.

She telephone Richard that evening and admitted that her twin brother knew their secret. She was expecting him to be furious, but he took the news very calmly and asked them both to visit and stay for the next weekend.

They arrived on the Saturday morning and Richard's house keeper made them all some lunch. After lunch, Joe was given the tour of the establishment and expressed his amazement at the vets work. "And now, " Dr Milton announced, "if you can stand the shock, I'll show you the fruits of Lisa's loins."

In the back shed, they were shown the three tabby kittens that Lisa had carried in her womb. Joe kept shaking his head and saying things like,"I don't believe it! I don't believe it! And you've been feeding them with your... milk?"

Lisa nodded proudly. "Isn't Richard wonderful? The things he can do! He's a genius!"

That night over dinner, Joe continued to pour questions at both Lisa and Dr Milton. Later, on the porch, the wine flowed and it was plain that Joe's initial reservations about Dr Milton and his work had receded. Lisa told them both that she wanted to carry a much bigger animal next time. Dr Milton said, "Joe, can you talk some sense into your lovely sister? She thinks her frame can carry a full term lamb to a conclusion. A healthy lamb can have a birth weight of 12 to 14 pounds not including the afterbirth etc."

Joe screwed his face up at the thought. He turned to Richard and said, " Doctor, in my experience, once this girl has set her mind on something, wild horses won't change her mind."

Lisa smiled. He was right. She was going to carry a 12 pound lamb to full term and give birth vaginally. Her heart was set on it. No-one was going to stop her... She had been dreaming about her swollen belly, bursting as a huge animal grew inside her...

Richard turned the conversation to the fact that they were twins. He explained that he had always been fascinated by twins and their development from conception to birth. He had done a huge amount of research when he was at University and was considering returning to his work. He continued, " Mankind has never discovered how some people are susceptible to conceiving twins and why some are identical, that is from a split egg, and why some are a result of two eggs fertilising."

Lisa's period was not due for another 2 weeks, so all talk of pregnancy was put on hold. Richard asked Joe not to break his confidence about his work and Joe promised to tell no-one. He was also invited to stay whenever he wanted as a guest of the doctor's.

Returning home on the Sunday, Lisa decided she was going to spend some of her new wealth on driving lessons. She wanted to become independent of her brother and buy a car of her own. She started to take three lessons a week and Joe knew it wouldn't be long before she took her driving test. She also developed a plan for the next occupant of her womb...

Her period arrived on time and she discussed with Richard the next experiment with her reproductive mechanism. Richard stated firmly that a small breed of dog was the largest he was prepared to let her conceive. Lisa then persuaded him to let her act as the host for some of Nancy's eggs. He warned," You do appreciate that a Labrador puppy can weigh up to two pounds and the gestation period for all dogs is 62 days. You'll have to carry them for two whole months and this time you'll show like a woman having a human baby."

Lisa said she wanted to have two eggs implanted and both men were relieved that she hadn't insisted on a larger animal. On the following Saturday afternoon, she took the two dogs for a walk in the woods and finished the walk in the barn. While Richard was out shopping, she bent over her favourite hay bale and let Ted take her again, knot and all. After all, she mused, I am supposed to have his pups soon...